轮船

輪船

lúnchuán

noun HSK 4 #17,360

Measure Word

一艘轮船 sōu

Meanings

1 steamship; steamer
2 ship (general)

Characters

wheel; steamship

Originally 'wheel ship' — a steamship with paddle wheels

Examples

我们坐轮船去上海。

Wǒmen zuò lúnchuán qù Shànghǎi.

We'll take a ship to Shanghai.

一艘大轮船停在港口。

Yì sōu dà lúnchuán tíng zài gǎngkǒu.

A large ship is docked at the port.

坐轮船比坐飞机慢多了。

Zuò lúnchuán bǐ zuò fēijī màn duō le.

Taking a ship is much slower than flying.

Tips

history

轮船 originally referred to paddle-wheel steamships (the 轮 meaning 'wheel'). Though modern ships no longer use paddle wheels, the name stuck. It now generally means any large ship.

usage

Transportation vocabulary: 轮船 (ship), 飞机 (airplane), 火车 (train), 汽车 (car), 自行车 (bicycle). Use 坐 + vehicle to say 'take/ride'.

Stroke Order

轮 lún

船 chuán